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Iranians use VPNs to bypass governmental website blocks

Iran is well known for censoring the internet, prohibiting access to hugely popular social media websites such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

Since being sworn in as Iran’s leader last year, President Hassan Rouhani is widely seen as an advocate for an open internet. Last year in an interview with CNN’s Christiane Amanpour when asked whether he would reduce censorship in Iran, Rouhani said “All my efforts are geared to ensure that the people of Iran will comfortably be able to access all information globally and to use it...I believe that all humans beings have a right, and all nations have a right to use them.”

Online freedom in Iran: baby steps

A year on, and Rouhani, seen as the “moderate” President, is still determined to push this through. Recently he called on some of the countries most hard-line clerics to relax their attitude towards the web, saying that an open internet is essential to be able to educate the nation's youth, to give them greater “knowledge and science” capabilities.

Recently, the Iranian government granted 3G and 4G licences, a popular move with young Iranians, and also increased much-needed bandwidth on home connections.

Here comes the sad part

However, this has raised concern for some of the countries most conservative clerics including Grand Ayatollah Nasser Makaram Shirazi who sees high speed internet as “haram” meaning forbidden by Islamic law and violates “human and moral norms.”

One stumbling block which could setback or even decimate Rouhani’s vision, was the news of 11 Iranians who were recently arrested in the country after messages criticizing the Islamic republic founder Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini were found. In Iran WhatsApp, Viber and Tango are monitored for content that criticizes the government and its leaders. Freedom of speech is not tolerated. Period.

Happiness is also not permitted in Iran. Back in May, a group of Pharrell Williams fans produced their version of his hit song “Happy”, which attracted tens of thousands of online viewers on YouTube. According to the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran, an Iranian court found them guilty of producing a “vulgar” video conducting "illicit relations" and they received a suspended sentence of six months prison and 91 lashes. However, Rouhani, who has a Twitter account, stood up for the Happy fans tweeting “Happiness is our people's right. We shouldn't be too hard on behaviors caused by joy."

Rouhani’s government has been given one month to ban social networking apps, or else the judiciary will take matters into their own hands. What this means exactly hasn’t been revealed, but it can only mean upset and frustration for the millions of people who use the platforms. Currently, in-house fighting between Rouhani’s administration and Iran’s judiciary is taking place, with neither party , currently willing to back down. Unfortunately, the decision to press forward for internet freedom is not Rouhani’s. Filtering and censorship of the internet is controlled by Iran’s Supreme Council of Cyberspace - a bunch of right wing conservatives who strongly disagree with Rouhani's vision.

Many Iranians bypass website blocks, but how?

A study recently published by the Ministry of Sport and Youth Affairs, found that nearly 70% of Iranians, aged between 15 and 29, use VPNs (Virtual Private Networks) to bypass websites blocked by their government.

VPNs give Iranian netizens and other web users such as those in China access to a free and open internet, allowing them to access news, and allows them to freely communicate with the outside world using Facebook and Twitter.

Bypassing governmental blocks is easy with HMA! Pro VPN - and in fact, bypassing this kind of censorship was the main reason our service was originally established. Just select a server from our vast country list, (choose a server in a country where you know the web page is not blocked) and you’ll be surfing the net in no time at all as you should be able to – no restrictions, no blocks whatsoever.

If you, a friend, family member or work colleague is planning a trip to Iran or you know anyone who lives there who would benefit from using a VPN, tell them about HMA! Pro VPN. It’s always best to be prepared, so I highly recommend that you purchase an HMA! Pro subscription and get it set up on your iPhone, PC, Mac, or Android before arriving in Iran. Feel free to give them our email address info@hidemyass.com and a member of our support team will assist if any help is needed.

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